Annual Hours of Instruction

by Eugene Park, CPA, Audit Manager

Posted on May 9, 2018

With the recent events that have transpired, now seems like a good time to review the requirements for annual hours of instruction necessary to generate a 1.0 FTE for each grade level as per Arizona statute. Per ARS 15-341.01, local educational agencies (LEAs) must provide 180 days of instruction and/or the equivalent number of hours of instruction as noted below.

• Preschool with disabilities: 216 hours
• KG: 356 hours
• 1^st-3^rd: 712
• 4^th-6^th: 890
• 7^th-8^th: 1,000
• 9^th-12^th: 720 hours (and 4 or more subjects that meet for at least 123 hours each)

For fiscal year 2017-18, common (elementary) schools may not include times of the day that instruction is not provided such as lunch, recess, homeroom, study hall, assemblies, etc. as a part of the annual hours of instruction. If there were any times of the day that instruction was not offered or if schools were closed, these days and/or periods of time should not be included in the district’s annual hours of instruction to comply with Arizona statute. Please note that changes will be made beginning fiscal year 2018-19 for what can be included as hours of instruction for common schools as per AZ Senate Bill 1008.

For high schools, beginning fiscal year 2017-18, districts could include times that a student was scheduled to be on campus during a regular school day as instructional time towards the 720 hours of instruction requirement as per ARS 15-901. If districts elected to include those scheduled times, times such as lunch, study hall, homeroom, etc. could be included in the annual hours of instruction requirement. This however, does not nullify the student from having to take 4 “courses” for at least 123 hours each for the year. Per ARS 15-101 a “course” is defined as an organized subject matter in which instruction is offered within a given period of time and for which credit toward promotion, graduation or certification is usually given. In addition, a “subject” is defined as a division of field of organized knowledge, such as English or math, or a selection from an organized body of knowledge for a course or teaching unit. Basically, this means that while a scheduled lunch period may be considered instruction towards the annual 720 hour requirement, this would not be considered a required “course” towards the 4 course requirement.

An additional item to consider when reviewing annual hours of instruction is the districts’ policies. Many districts policies that require schools to operate on a 180 day calendar in addition to the annual hours of instruction requirement. If this is the case, the policy should be adhered to and should the district fall short of the 180 days, the district would add additional days of instruction to make up for the days lost.

Lastly, once districts have ensured that schools are in compliance with the annual hours of instruction requirement and compliant with its own district policy, school districts that choose to modify their calendars whether it be to add additional days or to exclude days closed, districts should obtain governing board approval and submit a calendar change request form. Additionally, for fiscal year 2017-18 due to the teacher walkout an “Instructional Time Certification” must be submitted to ADE.  As always, if you have any questions regarding student attendance compliance, don’t hesitate to contact us.